I'm interested in having a kräftskiva for my family reunion. Suggestions?

You can’t get clearer instructions than this: (from your link). It sounds like fun.

“Dining is traditionally outdoors, but in practice the party is often driven indoors by bad weather or aggressive mosquitoes.

“Customary party accessories are comical paper hats, paper tablecloths, paper lanterns…, and bibs.

” A rowdy atmosphere prevails amid noisy eating and traditional drinking songs (snapsvisa).

“The alcohol consumption is often high, especially when compared to the amount of food actually eaten (crayfish shelling is tedious work).

“It is culturally correct to suck the juice out of the crayfish before shelling it.”

Aquavit would be GOOD.

What a fun and wonderful idea! Below are some items to consider based upon a quick internet search.

Here is a recipe for cooking crawfish in the authentic Kräftskiva style.

Here is a video showing a Swedish Crawfish Party in action. It shows a sample of the funny party hats, table set-up, emphasis on singing, as well as the standard for eating and drinking.

If you decide to use this party theme, the participants should learn how to pronounce the word Kräftskiva.

Here is a site that provides some tips for what is needed to create a Swedish crawfish party.

Some things to take into consideration:
* Family members may be allergic to or grossed out by the thought of eating crawfish. It would be worthwhile to find out in advance what their thoughts are on the menu. There might be a need to provide some other entree on hand for those that balk at the choice.

* Eating crawfish that are served shelled is really messy. There should be bibs, napkins, and water/soap on hand for pre- and post-dining.

* It’s a high maintenance meal to serve. It can become a never-ending cycle of cooking, restocking, and removing the discarded shells from the table. It’s hard to estimate how many crawfish will be needed, especially if this is the first time. Too few, and there is a disappointed crowd. Too many, and you end up having to shell them yourself and freezing them for later use.

* The shell and gut remains are an automatic attraction for critters on the hunt for a meal. Plus, they stink to high heaven. They need to be taken to a dump site as quickly as possible after the party.

Please report back and let us know how the party goes. I’d love to hear about it.

This sounds like fun. The only thing I can think of is having the live critters in a bath overnight so they can “flush”. My ex bro-in-law used to do this a lot, I’ll ask what he added to the water as a purge.